Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story

- Text Size +

Author's Chapter Notes:
Hello! My apologies for the delay – I was sidetracked by events seemingly beyond my control. Apparently long-distance moves and career changes have a way of taking over your life! ;-) Thanks for the reviews – I’d love to hear from more of you! At any rate, enjoy this chapter and expect more surprises and a little chaos in the coming chapters.

Part Five

“Jarod,” Major Charles spoke into the phone, voice pleased. He gripped the corded phone against his ear with his shoulder, stirring the softened vegetables in the slow cooker.

“Dad,” Jarod replied, pulling a piece of orange Pez from the Batman dispenser with his teeth. “How are you?”

“Just fine, Jarod. Everything here has been going well – saw where you laid those false trails for Mr. Lyle and Raines. Nice work. I assume you are doing well?”

“Yes. Nice and quiet.” Clearing his throat, Jarod ventured, “Dad, I’ve been doing a little research. The Centre mainframe has been strangely devoid of activity. I considered going back into the facility but without Parker and Sydney there, it doesn’t strike me as the safest maneuver. You want to shed some light on this? I know it has something to do with the cryogenics lab they think Parker trashed… and it seems that Angelo is missing as well.”

Major Charles’ eyes flicked from the spoon to Parker, who was sitting quietly at the kitchen table, flipping the pages of her mother’s photo album. An occasional smile lit her face as she thumbed through her life. Placing his hand over the phone, Major Charles spoke quietly. “Parker?” Waiting until her brow furrowed and she looked up, he continued, “Do you know where Angelo is?”

“What?” she frowned. “At the Centre. What happened?” Her body tensed and she sat straighter.

“Jarod thinks he may be missing,” Major Charles answered, uncovering the phone and shifting his mouth back toward the microphone. “Why do you think Angelo is missing?” he asked.

“Parker doesn’t know where he is?” Jarod frowned, biting the Pez in half. Before waiting for his father’s response, he added, “I don’t know that he’s missing. It sounds like the cryogenics lab that was destroyed is being repaired for future use… and Angelo has not replied to any of my messages. I was under the impression that they were going to use Angelo to determine Parker’s mental state at the time of the lab’s destruction… but it seems that they either couldn’t locate him or he refused to cooperate. Angelo seems to feel a sense of camaraderie toward Parker, so I was wondering if she knew what was going on.”

“Angelo has free reign of the Centre, does he not?” Major Charles questioned, his eyes once again fixed on Parker’s concerned expression.

“Yes. It’s entirely possible he’s simply hidden somewhere else for one reason or another,” Jarod agreed. “Or that he’s overwhelmed with the current state of matters at the Centre – or something he sensed from Parker in that lab. I just find it odd that he has not been in contact with either of us in the last few days.”

“Perhaps he knows that contacting us has the potential to lead the Centre to us – or at least pove your trails as false,” his father pointed out, smiling calmly at Miss Parker, whose eyes remained fixed to his, worry washing over her features.

Sighing into the phone, Jarod agreed, “Perhaps. He’s alone there, Dad…”

Before his son could continue, the Major interrupted, “We know, Jarod. I’ll speak with Parker and Sydney and see if they can give us some idea of what your friend may be up to. Between the three of us, I’m certain we can come to some sort of satisfactory conclusion.”

“Sounds good, Dad. As for coming to satisfactory conclusions, care to let me in on what is going on there?”

Shaking his head, Major Charles broke Miss Parker’s gaze. “Not much of anything worth mentioning, Jarod. We’re just trying to determine what the Centre is up to and why everyone felt the sudden need to scatter. As soon as we have something finite figured out, you’ll be among the first to know.” Shrugging as if his son could see him, he put the spoon in the small boat next to slow cooker, sliding the lid back into place. “Take care, son. If you hear anything further about Angelo or our friends in Blue Cove, send us a video message. The uplink should be set by tonight. Otherwise, we’ll be in touch in the next few days.”

Sighing, Jarod grumbled, “All right, Dad. I’ll keep digging and see what secrets they’ve buried this time.”

“Jarod, be careful and be patient. Soon, we’ll have enough information to put together what the Centre’s current plot is and hopefully gather enough ammunition to put a stop to it. We can’t push too far too fast.”

With another sigh, the younger man agreed. “I know, Dad. Don’t worry. I’ll be in touch – tell everyone I said hello.” Before the Major could reply, he heard the distinct click as the connection was severed.

As soon as the phone was placed back in the cradle, Parker was easing from her chair and toward the counter. “What happened to Angelo, Major?”

The older man shook his head. “As of right now, probably nothing. Jarod is just a little concerned that he has had no recent e-mails from CJ – Angelo. He thinks he may be hiding or, at the very least, avoiding Raines. It’s also possible that Angelo has sensed some emotion from you in the time he has likely spent in the cryogenics lab, or anywhere in the Centre for that matter, since your absence.” Catching the slight crinkling of her nose, he added, “I may not have known you for very long, Parker, but I know enough to know that when you feel things, you feel them very strongly. You may not acknowledge those emotions, but they’re there.” His words were punctuated with a kind smile.

Drawing in a deep breath, Miss Parker nodded, gaze drifting to an unknown memory she had tucked away somewhere in the recesses of her mind, a hand reaching to clasp the front of her throat. “Angelo is all right,” she said after a moment, voice laced with sincerity. “I think I would know if he weren’t.”

--

“Tell me about Thomas Gates,” Ethan requested, pushing his foot against the floor of the porch and propelling the wooden swing to and fro. He and his sister were curled near the center of the hanging bench, his arm thrown across the back and her head resting near his wrist. Ethan’s fingers caressed the cool metal of the chain on the left side of the swing, while Parker’s feet dangled near the opposite end, her arms wrapped around her waist.

Across from them, on a sliding bench, sat Major Charles, slowly turning the pages of his after dinner newspaper. It had been a few days since he’d taken the time for the indulgence, but following the weekend’s activities the Major determined that he deserved it.

Miss Parker’s expression had softened even as her shoulders tense, her feelings on the subject clearly in conflict. Eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and joy, she laughed quietly and caught her brother’s gaze. “What do you want to know?” her words were quiet when she finally broke the quiet.

“Everything,” Ethan shrugged. “I want to know as much about the man who stole my sister’s heart as you’re able to share. I want to understand what it is like to love someone in that way.” Major Charles lowered the edge of his newspaper to observe his son and his sister, catching the sincere but gentle curiosity written across Ethan’s features and the conflicted emotions that swirled beneath the surface of the woman’s gaze.

“Thomas…” Parker’s voice was gentle, her arms tightening around her as if fighting an invisible chill. “He was an amazing man, a good man, a gentle man,” letting out a slightly bitter laugh, she added, “I’ll never understand why he loved me.”

Major Charles quietly pushing the bench to the same rhythm as the swing, folding the newspaper and laying it on the table to his right. A frown had crossed his face at her tone; he was all too familiar with self-blame and hatred. Cocking his head to the side, he casually looked the woman over, then briefly met his son’s eyes. Neither interrupted or offered what she would surely hear as unnecessary words of comfort, choosing instead to let her continue at her chosen pace.

“He was a carpenter, actually – he said he liked making old things new again. I think in the beginning I was afraid that’s all I was to him: a project, like one of his old houses, something for him to renovate and make better, then leave behind. But he never let me think that, not really. I didn’t have to explain it,” she slid her hands over the wood of the kitchen table, watching the silver of her ring drag against its surface. “Tommy just knew,” Parker’s fingers drifted through the air unconsciously as she spoke, painting her words into abstract images. “He knew me, my thoughts, my fears, my… mind. He knew me better than I think sometimes I know myself.” Pausing, she chuckled, “Of course, Jarod orchestrated our meeting, so who knows what Tommy really knew about me ahead of time.”

Major Charles eyebrows’ rose as he focused on her. “Jarod did what?”

Shaking her head, Miss Parker shrugged her shoulders. “I was angry when I found out – Jarod didn’t bother sharing that piece of information until about a year after Tommy was killed. He helped him on a pretend and apparently they became friends. Your son,” she smirked, “decided to play matchmaker.” The Major inwardly cringed, knowing that Jarod’s actions had tread past naïve into territory that he wasn’t sure how to address. His oldest son’s thoughts, motives, and emotions were a mystery unto themselves, and, it appeared to the pilot, they must be as much a mystery to himself.

“Thomas wanted me to leave the Centre. Initially, I thought it was the worst idea I had ever heard. If I wanted to catch Jarod,” her eyes flicked from Ethan to the Major, lips pursing solemnly. “If I wanted to catch Jarod, if I wanted to find my mother’s killer, if I wanted to live my life – I had to be at the Centre. My father had insured me that I could leave once my purpose there had been fulfilled. Of course, at that time, I assumed my purpose was bringing Jarod back,” her hand slid from the table top, sliding across her still-flat midsection. “But he had a way of making me see things that I hadn’t seen since before my mother died. He made me want a life outside of that place, a life my mother would have been proud to see me live. So I resigned, gave Daddy my gun, and made plans to join Tommy in Oregon once I had settled matters with my house and such. The next morning, he was murdered on my porch. Daddy’s wife, Brigitte... She just executed him like an animal,” her voice was strained, quiet. After a moment, Miss Parker continued, “I couldn’t leave then; I had no reason to leave and nowhere to go.”

Ethan’s arm had settled across the back of his sister’s section of the swing midway through the story, and as she wove her tale his hand came to rest on her shoulder. He turned to gaze steadily at his father, who was watching the younger woman with a look of both understanding and sadness. If nothing else, Ethan thought, we know what it is to lose things. How important it is to hold onto what is left.

“And now?” Major Charles asked, voice low and calm.

The words were exactly what she needed – devoid of sympathy but filled with a sense of kinship.

Forcing a smile, Parker replied, “Well, as the saying goes, the world is my oyster.” She shrugged, unintentionally knocking her brother’s hand back onto the chair. “I have every reason to be anywhere but the Centre and no intention of ever being a part of that horror show again.”

“Thomas and our mother,” Ethan began, voice slightly hesitant, “they’re still with you, with all of us, just in a different way. We can’t see them, but we know they’re there.” He twisted toward his sister, tapping his forefinger against his temple. “They’re in here,” moving his thumb to point at his chest, “and here, and they’ll guide us and help us along the way.” Smiling, Ethan reached for his water bottle. “Granted the clues are obscure and the voices are sometimes annoying when you’re trying to sleep, eat, focus, hold a conversation…” his tone was jovial as his words trailed off.

Parker chuckled, then smacked the hand still on her shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re not the one they’re waking up three times a night with weird dreams and strange directions.”

“That,” Ethan pointed, “has very little to do with the voices and everything to do with this one,” he indicated her stomach, making a production of schooling his face into a serious expression. “Jim’s website says pregnant women have bizarre, vivid dreams. For the record, none of us are purple and we do not taste like ice cream. Resist any urges to wear gingham and baby on board stickers are really just ugly.”

“Oh, shut it,” she smacked him on the shoulder, pushing herself out of the swing and throwing a teasing glare at Major Charles. “Can’t you control your son? I think perhaps he needs to get back to work – he has had entirely too much free time to torture his sister today!”

With a forced, dramatic sigh, Ethan stood to his feet and threw his hands in the air. “Fine, fine. I’ll go see what Mr. Broots has found today and see if I can offer them some assistance. Maybe they’ll let me do some actual work,” he offered a poor rendition of his sister’s glare. Watching her roll her eyes in return, his expression cracked and he whirled on his heels to go into the living room before she could goad him further.

A soft smile drifted across Miss Parker’s face as the door slipped shut behind him, and she shook her head lightly and retook her seat. “He tries so hard to make me laugh,” she commented, sharing an indulgent grin with her brother’s father.

“He loves you,” Major Charles replied, smiling kindly at her from across the open space. “He lost a great number of years with you, with all of us. I don’t imagine he’ll let another day go by without trying to insert himself as much as possible into all the parts of our lives.”

“My baby brother,” she sighed. “I wish… well, I couldn’t have asked for a better one.”

“Miss Parker!” Debbie called from inside the living room, breaking her train of thought just as the Major asked her where she had drifted. “Miss Parker! We found something, come here!”

Crinkling her eyebrows, Parker met Major Charles’ gaze. With a nod of encouragement, the older man followed her as she stood, holding the door open and ushering her under his arm and into the room.










You must login (register) to review.